I have been giving some thought to the calendar and am on the verge of making a suggestion to Eric. The idea is a little complicated but the basics idea is this:

All users would be able to enter races into their own calendar.

Users would have the option to publish their races, either to any group or forum or just a selection of group(s) that they want to share their race data with.

Groups could be configured to display the race calendar at the top of every forum page.

I haven't quite worked out all the details, but the idea would be to make it easier to share your races with the group or groups of your choice and to get rid of formatting issues. It would also take the "burden" of updating the calendar off of the early birds.

"Address the process rather than the outcome. Then, the outcome becomes more likely." - Robert Fripp

Julia1971

posted: 2/26/2013 at 11:58 AM

Scott, The idea of a master RA calendar rang a bell. Here's an old thread about it. You may want to "bump" it with your idea. It could be something Eric is working on.

Swift, Added you, too... One benefit, as I noted in 2011, would be mining the calendar for past races and getting intel from other RAers about the race.

SIAR, The gym is small and is changing to another small owner. The gym that's closer is also small. I used to belong to a big chain that's about 2 miles away but I dropped them when I went carless about 2 years ago. I have a car again, so could rejoin. Hmm. Something to think about.

Tough times never last, but tough people do. – Dr. Robert Schuller

PressingOn

posted: 2/26/2013 at 12:18 PM

Hey guys! Another short and quick post from me. Taper is hitting me in the opposite manner this time. Usually I post more. Too many other things going on though and my computer time is being tapered back along with my running. I read all your stuff but no time for personal comments. Sorry!!!

I've got group run today. They'll be doing some sort of speed and I'll be working on race pace. Then I'm meeting with my coach for coffee after. Hopefully will also be able to swing by the bike shop to get fitted for my jersey for the tri team. I need to call and see if they can squeeze me in today. Not sure what all the fitting would involve?

I tried to beat the rain and get in my recovery run without getting soaked. I made it about 1.5 miles in before it started. It didn't rain hard though so I didn't mind too much. I was a good boy and kept it to true recovery pace so SIAR doesn't yell at me.

RVD - Good luck getting your run in. If you are getting the same storm as I am, tomorrow morning looks like the better option to me.

CC - Stay excited! I LOVE pre-race jitters. Makes me feel alive.

Julia - Thanks for the link to the calendar thread. That idea is much more involved than mine but I like it. I bumped the thread to see if the boss is working on that one or if he let it go.

SIAR - I agree with most of what you said about the calendar and this group. I tried to start posting in the beginners and beyond daily for a while but that group is way too big for me to keep up with. I struggle to give all you folks the attention you deserve. I'm an "all or nothing" kind of guy. If I'm not all in, then I'm all out.

Damaris - Only 10 more this year? Slacker!

Pressing - Enjoy the group run. I'm sure the personal busy time is a great distraction from the taper.

"Address the process rather than the outcome. Then, the outcome becomes more likely." - Robert Fripp

So_Im_a_Runner

Go figure

posted: 2/26/2013 at 1:42 PM

Ran 6 on the TM. I'll probably push through 4 more later on this evening.

Scott..Your idea sounds like a pretty good one, although I have no clue how difficult it would be to execute. If I'm being honest, I don't care too much about the calendar. A lot of times I haven't even put my races on it, and the training feedback and conversation are far more important to me. As for the beginner's forum, I do post over there, but not individually like I do here. Nice job with your recovery run...I kinda am the pace-Nazi about those. Good to know I'm in your ear though!

Julia...I noticed you mentioned "mining." The thought of data-mining just makes me shudder since it reminds me way too much of document review by the box load. I used to think about going carless when I was in Chicago, but I kept it so that I could golf more easily lol. From my perspective, the big gyms are good if you're interested in more than just the gym (socializing, dating, etc.), but the smaller ones are a lot better for just getting in and getting it done.

Pressing...I imagine this taper feels a lot different being that it's essentially just a recovery from your last race? Have a nice time with the goal pace run and coffee with your coach. I think the tri fitting should be pretty simple. It's weird how tri and bike stuff fits though. I wear a medium or small in all of my clothes, but have to go up to a large for the bike gear.

Julia: You will give a great speech, I'm sure. Thanks for adding my race.

The idea of a master list as described by Scott or in that thread does sound pretty good, especially if it was built into the forum software as described.

I'm not crazy about that Beginners & Beyond Forum. I've seen 1 or 2 interesting threads there, but just way too much stuff to wade through to find them, most of the time. But then I never posted on the RW BF either.

SIAR: Yep, going back to 5 days was the easiest way to get my miles back down--I've been going back and forth between 5 and 6 this whole cycle. Just glad I finally managed to get up to 6 and tolerate it pretty well, since last year I tried it (since that's what Hudson recommends), but never seemed to adjust to it.

PRs: 5K: 22:09, 10K:44:55, 15K: 1:10:35, HM: 1:42:49, M: 3:32:09

jojo61397

posted: 2/26/2013 at 3:44 PMmodified: 2/26/2013 at 3:45 PM

I'm stoked about the race. The post-race swag includes a Vera Bradley Bag... How can you not be excited about that?

I noticed a TON of people running Georgia Marathon. I have been doing hills, but somehow the hills seem overwhelming to me. How are the hills really? Is the scenery enough to mitigate the hills? I run a lot hills during my runs, but I live in FL.

jojo61397: NOTHING is going to mitigate those hills. I've only ever run the half because there is no way I could handle them. This year I'm escaping to flat Virginia Beach for the Shamrock just to get away from them.

Personally I've never seen any scenery in downtown Atlanta worth seeing, but others may disagree.

jojo: I have only done this race the inaugural year in 2007, and the course is a little different now. The hills can be pretty tough, best I can suggest is to just pace carefully. I got one of Greg Maclin's pace band spreadsheets (mymarathonpace.com) which gives me specific paces to run for each mile, based on the profile. It cost $5.75 but I felt it's worth it if it helps me not have a miserable race. You enter in your info (goal time + some other parameters) and print the band from it.

The scenery is not that exciting. They do have a neighborhood challenge where the groups on different parts of the course compete for prizes based on their support of the racers, and I'm one that is helped a lot by crowd support. In 2007, I ran wearing a "Will run for beer" shirt and the funniest thing I remember was a girl tried to give me a bottle of beer late in the race. A lot of the course in the later miles should have pretty good crowds. Last year I ran Buffalo, which was pancake flat, but the last 6 miles of the course had almost no spectators until the very end, and I found that made it harder for me.

PRs: 5K: 22:09, 10K:44:55, 15K: 1:10:35, HM: 1:42:49, M: 3:32:09

So_Im_a_Runner

Go figure

posted: 2/26/2013 at 4:37 PM

Swift...have you ever eaten at the Varsity? I've only ever been to Atlanta when we were there playing Emory, but I never had time to venture away and try it.

Just kidding. I asked two people who I felt would ne honest and they said it was okay and fine. For my first speech, I'll take it! I'm all wound up now, though. I wish I'd brought my running clothes into work so I could do my 4 miles.

Julia - I'm sure it was more than just fine or OK. Either way, it is always a relief to get those things behind you and I'm sure that feels great.

NTS - I realized that I didn't thank you for your thoughtful post to me yesterday. I apologize for that and thank you for taking the time to post that. I think 3:50 is within the realm of possibility, but it will need to be a really good day. 3:55 seems safer.

"Address the process rather than the outcome. Then, the outcome becomes more likely." - Robert Fripp